


Burning Bright Blue

by tinycamembert



Category: Cafe Cardamari Tales
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 05:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19900393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinycamembert/pseuds/tinycamembert
Summary: "There's something up with Vadelma, you've decided."





	Burning Bright Blue

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. i am so bad at titles
> 
> 2\. i can't believe it's already been two years since i wrote this. time flies.

There's something up with Vadelma, you've decided. You haven't been able to put your finger on it, but the past couple days she's been much quieter than normal. Her normally sunny attitude has seemed dimmer at practice recently, but you figured it was just a result of the turf war season becoming more intense as the league got closer to the championships. You had been working everyone pretty hard, you admit, but usually Vadelma is more than happy to face the challenging practices you have planned.

  
Now, you sit in your usual corner in the cafe, trying to write out strategies for the team's upcoming matches, but you're mostly watching Vadelma. It's as crowded as it has been for the last few weeks, with customers coming in for a cool drink and a break from the heat outside. You can't help but notice how Vadelma's smile seems especially forced, and that her shoulders are hunched over as she rushes from table to table. You look over to Kirsikka to see if she's noticed as well, but she's just as busy as Vadelma is and hasn't been paying much attention to her sister. An hour or so later as Vadelma's shift winds down, you plan on intercepting her before she goes upstairs to ask if she's doing alright. However, when you wave to her from across the cafe, trying to indicate for her to come over, she just gives you a small smile in return and hurries out of sight. Not wanting to intrude, you decide against following her upstairs, and try and return to your work. You can't seem to bring yourself to focus, instead wondering what it could possibly be that is troubling your teammate so much. You decide that you'll have to try and talk to her again later.

  
Despite your efforts, a few days have passed since your first attempt in the cafe and you haven't been able to talk to Vadelma the way you've wanted to. She shows up just barely on time for practice and rushes off as soon as you dismiss the team, leaving you unable to call her to stay afterwards. You've stopped by the cafe on multiple occasions, but it's been far too busy for Vadelma to stop by your table and chat the way she sometimes likes to do. Not to mention, you don't know what you would actually say to her if you managed to catch her alone one day. Conversations in private with Vadelma have a habit of leaving you feeling a bit flustered, always unsure of what to say and never quite able to look her in the eyes. Nevertheless, your worries have only increased in the past few days, and you're determined to keep trying to reach her.

  
A day later, you catch Vadelma at the end of her shift as the cafe. She had been working up until closing, and you wait until the room is almost empty, save for a few stragglers chatting at various tables. As you're finishing up the last of your tea, Vadelma stops by your table.

  
"You're here awfully late today," she remarks as she holds a small pastry in front of you, wrapped up in a bag for you to take on your way out.

  
"Oh, I was just working," you say, gesturing at the various papers scattered about your table, filled with half-finished game plans despite the fact that you had mostly been distracted the past hour, trying to figure out how to talk to Vadelma once the cafe was closed.

  
"Hmm," Vadelma says, leaning over you as she squints at the papers. Her arm brushes the back of your tentacles and you try not to jump.  
"They're not- uh, they're not finished yet," you say lamely.

  
"Well, I'm sure they will turn out as wonderful and clever as always," Vadelma says, offering you a smile as she places the bag in your hands. "And this is for you."

  
"Ah- thank you," you stammer, holding onto it, which has some sort of pastry with a berry filling inside. Out of the corner of your eye you see that she has written your name on the bag as well, and dotted the "i" in your name with a little heart. You can feel your face start to flush.

  
"Hey, wait a second," you say, as Vadelma turns to leave, trying to fight the urge to reach for her arm as she turns around.

  
"I'd love to stay and talk, dear, but I have to close the shop-" she begins, but you cut her off.

  
"I just- I just wanted to ask you if you were doing alright," you say, before she can walk away.

  
"Oh? I'm doing just fine, dear," she says, but you notice she doesn't smile.

  
"Are you sure?" You ask, feeling awkward, and she gives you a nod, resting her hand on your shoulder for a brief moment before going off to clean one of the other tables.

  
Unsatisfied with her answer, you sigh as you idly watch her work. You weren't sure of how she was going to respond, and you don't know how to further express that you're worried about her. It's hard for you to admit, but you miss her company and her bright presence in your day-to-day life. Seeing her so visibly stressed makes you wish that you could do something, anything to cheer her up, but your mind is blank.

  
You rest your cheek on your palm, looking out of the window and hoping for some sort of inspiration to strike. Vadelma always knows just what to do to cheer you up, and she's always available to listen to you vent about your problems, but when the time comes for you to help her you feel useless. Grinding your teeth in frustration, you start to pack up your things, putting your papers back into their respective folders before placing them neatly in your bag. You can think up dozens of strategies for every possible situation in turf war, you can always calculate how to win, but you can't even figure out how to help your best friend, you think to yourself bitterly, shoving the last few papers into your bag with a little more force than necessary.  
Looking up, you notice that the other customers have left, leaving Vadelma and you alone together. She stands with her back to you, organizing the display on the front counter, and you feel your stomach twist with nerves. If there was any time to talk to her, it would be now, and you still don't know what to do.

  
Maybe she's waiting for to me to talk to her, you think, watching her. Without giving yourself any more time to think, you stand up and walk towards her, quietly as if to not disturb her.  
"Vadelma," you say quietly once you reach her, and before she can turn around you wrap your arms around her waist and hold her close, pressing your nose gently into the back of her uniform just between her shoulder blades.

  
"I just hope you know," you mumble before she can say anything, "that if- if you're stressed, or worried about anything, or just want to talk, you can come to me."

  
"Oh," Vadelma says, barely higher than a whisper, as she rests her hand over yours. "Thank you, Marian," she says, gently brushing her thumb back and forth against the back of your hand.  
"I just-" she says quietly, stops for a moment and then tries again. "I have just been working a lot lately, that is all. It can become very overwhelming with everything that is happening with our training, and I want to make sure that I am being the best teammate that I can be to all of you. I know how important it is, and I don't want to let any of you down."

  
"That's alright," you say, your voice partially muffled against the fabric of the uniform against Vadelma's back. "It's completely understandable that you'd get stressed. I just- I just don't want you to suffer all by yourself."

  
"It's not a big deal," Vadelma says, raising her shoulders up and down in a slight shrug. "I didn't want you to worry."

  
"I was worried, though," you huff, and at that Vadelma pushes her hand against yours, twining your fingers together.

  
"I- well-" you start, suddenly flustered by the fact that you're now holding hands, and take a moment to try again. "You always listen to me when I'm upset, and I just wanted to do the same for you. I really- I really care about you."

  
"Hmm," Vadelma hums, and before you can react she turns around and smoothly pulls you in for a real hug, bringing you close and burying her face into your tentacles. "Thank you, Marian," she says, and you're positive she can feel the way your heart races as you hug her back, pressed close to her with your glasses crooked against her neck. "And I- I care about you too."

  
Vadelma pulls back for a short moment and looks at you, just inches away from your face, and you forget to breathe. She's so close, she could just-

  
"Vadelma!" Kirsikka calls from the other room, and the two of you jump, startled, as Vadelma breaks the hug to rest her hands on your shoulders instead. You take in a huge breath as your heart rate attempts to go back to normal.

  
"I'm almost finished cleaning here, are you done closing up?" Kirsikka asks, her voice muffled by the wall in between the cafe and kitchen.

  
"Yeah, sis," Vadelma calls back. "I'll be there in a minute." She turns back to look at you and smiles, a real, genuine smile that you hadn't seen in days. You grin back, unable to help yourself.

  
"Thank you again, dear," she says, and leans in to press a soft kiss to your cheek, her breath gentle against your jaw. "You always know how to make me happy." She beams at you before turning to leave, switching the lights off and walking into the other room, leaving you standing in the dark with your face burning bright blue.


End file.
